Some of the most interesting news on the coaching-change front comes from Class A, where Lincoln County has a new football coach, and Commerce has an old one because of a change of heart.
Here are a few noteworthy moves in recent weeks:
Lincoln County hires Pollock
Lincoln County has hired Grayson offensive coordinator Michael Pollock to replace Kevin Banks, who resigned after four seasons.
Pollock had been head coach at Cook, Americus-Sumter and Habersham Central. His record is 35-36. He also was offensive coordinator at Valdosta prior to getting the Americus-Sumter job in 2010.
Pollock’s high points including taking Cook to the Class AA semifinals in 2001 and leading Grayson’s offense during its 2016 state-championship season. A low point was being fired at Americus-Sumter over allegations that he kicked a player in the behind during practice.
At Lincoln County, Pollock will inherit a program that was 30-15-1 under Banks but hasn’t won a region title since 2012, when coached by Larry Campbell, who retired in 2013 after 42 seasons and a state-record 477 victories. Banks had been a long-time Campbell assistant.
Commerce’s Brown resigns, returns
Commerce head coach Michael Brown, a 1992 graduate of the school, resigned surprisingly last week, only to rescind the decision three days later after hearing from team supporters disappointed at his move.
"The outpouring of concern and the outpouring of emotions from the community was really a huge factor," Brown told the Athens Banner-Herald. "I just realized that I had made a mistake that wasn't necessarily intentional, but I had really put myself before the bigger picture and that's what's good for Commerce."
Brown, a coach at the school since 1999, sports a 43-17 record in five seasons.
Riverdale hires Jarvis
Corey Jarvis, who led Mays to the Class AAAAA final in 2014, is the new head coach at Riverdale. Jarvis has a 91-38 record in 12 seasons as a head coach with stops at Mays (2013-15), Duluth (2010-12) and M.L. King (2005-009). Jarvis was forced out at Mays by a 5-4 vote of the school board when a school audit could not account for $10,000 in booster-club money. Riverdale was 1-9 last season and has not won a playoff game since 2001.
Here are the reported hires and openings since the 2017 season ended:
ACE Charter: Jason Stephens
Americus-Sumter: Larry Harold
Apalachee: Tony Lotti
Armuchee: Jeremy Green
Banks County: Open
Berkmar: Willie Gary
Berrien: Tim Alligood
Bowdon: Richard Fendley
Brantley County: Geoff Cannon
Bryan County: Abram Scott
Carver (Columbus): Corey Joyner
Central (Macon): Open
Cherokee Bluff: Tommy Jones
Crawford County: Jhon Smith
Creekview: Adam Carter
Dacula: Clint Jenkins
Denmark: Terry Crowder
Dougherty: Damien Gary
East Laurens: Bin Turner
Fannin County: Chad Cheatham
Franklin County: Paul Sutherland
Gainesville: Heath Webb
Grady: Kevin Clark
Greene County: Larry Milligan
Hiram: Pete Fominaya
Johnson (Savannah): Kenderrick Bonner
Jordan: Open
Kendrick: Andre Slappey
Kennesaw Mountain: Caleb Carmean
King's Ridge Christian: Jeff Pickren
KIPP Atlanta Collegiate: Open
LaFayette: Paul Ellis
LaGrange: Chuck Gibbs
Landmark Christian: Joe Scott
Lanier County: Kurt Williams
Lincoln County: Michael Pollock
McIntosh County Academy: Tony Glazer
Metter: Rodney Garvin
Miller Grove: Lee Hannah
Model: Richard Ross
Mountain View: Rob Kellogg
North Atlanta: Open
North Paulding: Jim Bob Bryant
Northgate: Mike McDonald
Northside (Columbus): Dave Nurnberg
Oglethorpe County: Ronnie Harris
Pataula Charter: Open
Putnam County: Shaun Pope
Redan: Open
Ridgeland: Courtney Braswell
Riverdale: Corey Jarvis
Riverwood: Robert Edwards
Rockdale County: Jamie Baldwin
Savannah Christian: Baker Woodward
South Paulding: Jason Thompson
Southeast Bulloch: Barrett Davis
St. Francis: Frank Barden
Stephens County: Wesley Tankersley
Stewart County: Open
Thomas County Central: Ashley Henderson
Thomson: Open
Treutlen: Steve Versprille
Tri-Cities: Innis Claud
Twiggs County: Kelvin Blackshear
Veterans: Milan Turner
Walnut Grove: Robert Andrews
West Hall: Krofton Montgomery
Westover: Olten Downs
Wheeler County: Open
Whitefield Academy: Coleman Joiner
Wilcox County: Ken Cofer
Winder-Barrow: Ed Dudley
Worth County: Open
